swagkingcole

So I have an 09 C63 and recently Ive been experimenting with turning the ESP to sport mode while going about my regular daily driving. To my understanding this year only has 2 modes, ESP ON and ESP Sport.

Does anyone else prefer driving in ESP Sport mode?

What are the pros/cons of each?

Merc63

Hold the button down for 5+ seconds to turn it off completely.

I never drive with it on.. I always turn it off as soon as I start the car, its force of habit now. Its annoying as **** having it on. I wish they would allow it to be programmed off.

ced357

As stated above, you have three modes, On/Sport/Off.

I always start the car and throw it in Sport ESP and sport driving mode If I turn ESP off I spin the tires at every light.

2012C63AMG

Keep it on.. Sport is the max you should go for the street. Having it off is stupid for the street. None of you are pro drivers and even then they lose it. No sense in risking other people on the road. And after going to countless driving schools is quite evident how inflated people are in their sense of driving ability, just wait for that one day. And PS when you crash for being stupid and hurt someone they will use that against you as they can tell if you had it off or on.

Jasonoff

LOL

The throttle peddle is not on/off...

Merc63

Absolutely the WORST advice I have heard on mbworld to date.


I could go out and wrap a school bus around a poll. ESP wont make me a safer driver. If you can't handle your car, ESP is not going to save you. Learn to drive and trust yourself and use your head out there.

I never drive with ESP on, I can't stand it and I believe it to be more dangerous because ITS hitting the brakes when I want to move forward quickly. I can press the brakes myself if I need to slow down, I dont need a computer to tell me Im going to lose control, I can sense it myself.

If you need the ESP to safe your a33 out there, you got other problems to address and should probably be driving a Honda Civic.

2012C63AMG

The ESP system works very well on our cars. I have taken it in a parking lot in the rain and its fairly stupid proof when it comes to acceleration around corners. But if you think its safe to try and drift around corners on the street, which I doubt you do anyways or have the skill to, then by all means go for it. And please post videos here. You can go to youtube or search car forums about people who have turned ESP or DSC off and crashed their cars.

If you want to be stupid about it again go for it. But ESP has reduced accident rates and is not required by law on all cars by like 2014 as its a system that works, its also banned from F1 and racing because the dam computer does a heck of a good job.

Again please post videos of how you drive no the street. We are all curious to see how you drive every day with ESP off.


Also just google "turned traction control off crashed". You will find plenty of idiots who it eventually caught up to them. Most of them are younger BMW drivers. Again the track is fine since you have safety run off, if your driving like you do at the track on the street darwin will catch up with you.

hworang00

I think having ESP off doesn't mean they are flooring it...and I also agree with the fact that you should learn to drive your car without any outside assistance...people are different, I drive with ESP off sometimes and as long as you don't go crazy it's fine...You can also google car accidents, and see plenty of car crashes WITH ESP or some sort of comparable system in place...It depends on the car and driver...and although most people may not be able to handle our tail happy cars, I don't think everyone is going to be flooring the car and going crazy...either way, everyone should KNOW how to drive their car and learn to handle situations that could come up. Murphy's Law and all that jazz...

sbce90

I normally drive in C mode with ESP on... Probably a rarity around here lol.

But yeh the main reason I sometimes change to 'sport' setting is so that the car doesn't restrict power or brake as quickly. Often you just go 1/2 throttle and the car just chokes. I had on some R888s the other day and it was very easy to drive in Sport mode all day.

Guilty

I used to drive with ESP Off most of the time but I was burning tires like hell.

ZephyrAMG

Nice clear day, no major traffic, ESP OFF and controlling car with heavy acceleration out of turns is pretty much the highlight of the whole driving experience....not to mention down shifts...

so 70% ESP just OFF

HoozyerdaddyC63

Thank you Debbie Downer! Your post is just what I needed to keep me in check. Because of you I have saved countless number of lives, including my own.

Now that I've gotten my sarcasm out of the way, your opinion is your own and you need to work on your delivery because it sucked.

As for the OP, ESP Sport mode is the way I drive 98% of the time since I rarely ever drive in the rain and my car has never seen snow. Otherwise I need ESP on because the tires will spin even at 70 mph if I'm not careful.

On a nice sunny day I will sometimes take ESP off for a little spirited driving experience, but usually not around populated driving areas since the car can go sideways if you're not experienced enough. Also, I never drive with ESP on when I am at the drag strip.

rage2

While I don't have video, I have telemetry of me catching a drift with ESP off on the street.



Red arrow points to the G force around the corner, about 0.9g's.

Yellow arrow points to the steering angle, as you can see huge countersteer moment to catch the slide.

Green arrow points to the speed, as I kept 'er planted and accelerated through the slide.

I drive with ESP off all the time on the track or on the street, even in my tail happy death trap Black Series.

Note that there was no 10g crash event.

CoolBDPhenom03

How did you get that screenshot??

rage2

AMG Performance Media. Comes with the Black Series. Stick in a USB key, scroll to the event you want to see, select Screenshot. You can even export the whole thing out in CSV format for analysis. Very useful for figuring out if changes are working.

CoolBDPhenom03

That is freaking cool

HoozyerdaddyC63

+1

swagkingcole

A lot of excellent points here. I think the main thing is:

1. Don't be an idiot.

2. Be gentle with the inputs.

As it were, most daily driving doesn't really allow for opportunities to have fun or enjoy the drive. Its gotten to the point where Im starting to loathe driving during the day, esp. around busier times as it seems everyone is rather slow, dull, and boring. I've grown a much deeper appreciation for driving at night, especially late Sunday night.

Swoody

I think the default mode should be sport/sport.....you take it from there.

Guilty

But don't you guys get embarrassed by the sound of the tire when you take off with ESP Off? Makes me look like a douche so I stopped doing it.

swagkingcole

I notice this only happens to me when I jam on the pedal. If Im easy on and easy off there its all smooth and fluid.

Guilty

Well... lol. When I disable the ESP... I want the tail of the car to slide... and you can make it slide if you don't floor it.

SaphGreyC63

I think what it really comes down to is the following: Driver Ability.

Having come off the recent AMG Driving Academy I learned alot. The biggest thing I learned was on the skidpad in the C63 with the ESP in the three modes. ESP ON is a huge safety factor, the thing will protect you no matter how hard you try to crash. ESP Sport allows you to get a little slip but again will save your ***. ESP OFF is all on you.

Now what I really learned is my own ability. Having tried all three modes, we got our first real rain here in CA the other day. So I found myself a nice empty parking lot and turned ESP off completely. What I found is while I have a much better handle on the car than I did before going to the Academy, I am still not anywhere near good enough as a driver to be doing anything on public roads with ESP Off. I would be both a danger to myself and other drivers around me. Do I feel comfortable in ESP SPort? yes. Off. No. With enough practice I can definitely see myself able to turn ESP Off and drive around anywhere, as of right now definitely not.

What I'm trying to say is basically what everyone else is saying

1. Don't be stupid.
2. Don't think of yourself, think of others on the road.
3. KNOW YOUR ABILITY, I certainly know mine and I make sure I don't come close to my limits especially on public roads. There is a time and place for everything.

Chargin55

Good advice.

b16

Those who think ESP off is a danger to those around you.

What the hell do you think people did for the last 100 years of automobiles and no ESP at all?

I drive about 40% of the time with ESP on because I'm lazy to turn it off/forget and just drive to work.

30% sport
30% off

Sport/off really allow you to have more control over the car. The ESP on is really quite intrusive and if you're not expecting it, can be more of a surprise than the car's rear end swinging slightly and acting naturally.

Maybe I'm just old school and prefer to have control over the car.